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#1
12-22-2013, 10:42 AM
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what would you do?
A friend of mine has an old gibson l2 i believe from the late 30s as best i could tell, he doesnt have much money but he wants me and my father in law to repair it since we both have wood working experience and he has done some work on guitars. The issues are that the bridge i assume lifted off and took a nice chunk of wood with it so theres nothing left there to attach a new bridge to. Also some of the bracing has come loose inside. Ill see if i can get pics to show you all what i mean
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#2
12-22-2013, 12:16 PM
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__________________
Guitars: J-45 copy, Stahl Style 6 inspired copy
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#3
12-22-2013, 12:44 PM
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Repair
Ok, time for a little more information.
You both have woodworking experience, but how extensive is your work on guitars? I have a fair amount of woodworking under my belt, but there are a lot of guitar repairs I'd think twice about before attempting. I'd establish an agreed upon value for the instrument before you start the work. You might ask what quality he expects in the repair work, and also what happens if you can't pull it off, or worse, damage it further. Regluing braces is simple, all you need is C clamps with deep throats, no comments from the gallery, please.  A bridge repair on a compromised top is a different issue. Just my less than humble opinion.
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#4
12-22-2013, 04:52 PM
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I have some from growing up around job sites and competing in car audio he was a carpenter and draftsmen for a few years. He's done some repairs nothing this extensive though. I don't see the guitar having much value in its current condition because its so damaged and seems like someone tried to "refinish" it. The chunk of wood it took is a bit bigger than where the bridge was but not quite as wide. I believe he found it in the trash or something he's a mentally handicapped guy living on social security so not much money to spare. He just really wants it playable more than anything else. I had thought of trying to patch it with small piece of wood (mahogany I believe it is) and fiberglassing the back of the patch to make it stronger and possibly adding one of the metal floating bridges trapeze I believe its called
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#5
12-22-2013, 11:27 PM
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When it comes to repairing a prewar Gibson flat top, 'fiberglas' and 'added tailpiece' are bad words.
If it truly is an L2 from the 1930's, it is worth quite a bit....even in its present condition. Very few Gibsons were made with a mahogany top, but there were some in the early-1930's, and again in WWII.
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#6
12-23-2013, 09:29 AM
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#7
12-23-2013, 11:38 AM
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This is a job for an experienced luthier, not an amateur. With such a large piece of the top missing it complicates the repair. It is going to need a new bridge plate and at minimum a large patch supported by cleats. A 12 string has a lot of stress on the bridge, so the patch is going to have to be as strong as the original wood. Fiberglass underneath is going to ruin the sound and value of the guitar. I think this could be done with a patch but without even seeing it, that's just a guess. I think you would have to bevel the wood on the edges of the patch and do the same thing to the hole so you have more surface area to bond to. A piece of top wood must be found with grain that matches the top as closely as possible. Probably is not going to be a perfect match.
If your friend can't afford to pay for a professional repair, he can probably sell the guitar in it's current condition and get enough money to buy a very nice guitar.
__________________
Warren My website: http://draudio56.wix.com/warren-bendler "It's hard...calming the Beatle inside of me."
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#8
12-23-2013, 04:12 PM
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If all your friend wants is a playable guitar. Maybe you should post it up for a trade here on the forum. There are lots of people would probably like an old Gibson even if it needed a lot of work.
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#9
12-24-2013, 09:49 AM
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#10
12-24-2013, 11:28 AM
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__________________
Warren My website: http://draudio56.wix.com/warren-bendler "It's hard...calming the Beatle inside of me."
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#12
01-01-2014, 08:29 PM
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having cake and eating it too
A trip to a luthier for appraisal/estimate will provide your friend with a lot of guidance as to what to do next. If it has any collector's value, it can be turned into cash and your friend can buy a guitar with the proceeds from peddling the Gibson. No outlay, and he gets a playable guitar. Sometimes the raggediest beat-up instruments have more value in original/unrepaired condition than if they were repaired. Good luck to everyone.
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